Spicy Chocolate Vanilla Cupcakes

Twan, our food stylist, is known to be the best in the business when it comes to creating delicious and visually appealing pastries and cakes. So, we decided to have some fun and challenge him to make the most mouth-watering chocolate cupcakes with HOT SAUCE. He eagerly accepted the challenge, and spent the next few days experimenting with different flavors and techniques until he finally found the perfect recipe.

He begins by melting unsalted butter and water in a saucepan, and whisking in cocoa powder and chopped dark chocolate until it’s fully melted. From there, he adds brown sugar, vanilla extract, El Yucateco Black Label Sauce, and a pinch of salt, whisking for 30 seconds to fully incorporate all of the flavors. Next, he adds eggs to the mixture and whisks until they’re fully incorporated, before adding all-purpose flour and baking soda and stirring until no lumps remain. Once the batter is ready, Twan pours it into 12 muffin tins that he has sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, and bakes the cupcakes in the oven for 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. While the cupcakes cool, Twan prepares the vanilla frosting, beating unsalted butter with an electric mixer until it’s soft and creamy before progressively adding confectioners sugar and scraping the seeds from a vanilla bean into the mixture.

Finally, he makes the spicy chocolate sauce by melting chopped dark chocolate in a bowl, and pouring boiling heavy cream over it. He waits two minutes before whisking the mixture gently until it’s smooth, and then stirs in El Yucateco Black Label Sauce to give it a spicy kick. When everything is ready, Twan garnishes the cupcakes with vanilla frosting and drizzle the spicy chocolate sauce over them.

The result was a delicious and unique twist on the classic chocolate cupcake, and we knew Twan had truly succeeded in his dare.

Ingredients

Preparation

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Place the rack in the middle position.
2. In a saucepan, bring butter and water to a simmer. 
3. In a large bowl, combine cocoa powder and chocolate. Add hot water and butter mixture and whisk until chocolate is fully melted. Add brown sugar, vanilla, Black Label hot sauce, salt and whisk for 30 seconds. Add the eggs and whisk until fully incorporated. Add flour and baking soda and stir with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula until no lumps of flour remain. 
4. Divide the batter evenly into 12 prepared muffin tins sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake for about 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted into a cupcake comes out clean. Leave to cool completely at room temperature. 
5. For the frosting: beat the butter with an electric mixer until soft and creamy. Progressively add the confectioners sugar while mixing, then add the scraped vanilla bean and set aside.
6. For the chocolate sauce: place the chopped chocolate in a bowl and set aside.Bring the cream to a boil in a small saucepan and pour over the chocolate. Wait 2 minutes then whisk gently until the sauce is smooth. Stir in Black Label hot sauce. 
7. Garnish the cupcakes with vanilla frosting and drizzle with spicy chocolate sauce.